AMBASSADOR MATTHEW Beaubrun yesterday made an impassioned plea at the Caribbean Federation for Mental Health's 23rd biennial conference, urging member states to get out of their lukewarm state and return the federation to its former glory.
"We have to build back this association, it is very essential. Now more than ever the association needs to be strengthened. We should be able to play the role we played," urged Ambassador Beaubrun, as he delivered the keynote address yesterday at the Liguanea Club on Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston.
As he detailed the federation's rich legacy, the ambassador reminisced on the instrumental role it played in soliciting and securing funding for the establishment of the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital of the West Indies. The ambassador, who labelled the 'present' state of the federation as "terrible", lauded the consistent and unparalleled contribution of the nurses over the years. "Nobody else has shown such commitment," he said.
Ambassador Beaubrun also made suggestions as to how the association could be revitalised. The solution, he believes, simply lies in uniting with other concerned factions of society. "We have to go to every section of the community and find out if they would work closely with mental health," he said.
